The Clement Howell High School walked away with two of the top sectional prizes up for grabs at the 14th staging of the FortisTCI Science and Technology Fair, held at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex between Tuesday, March 7 to Thursday, March 9.
Clement Howell High was the only school to have won two sectional prizes at the event. However, the Roman Catholic-run Holy Family Academy, who won one of the categories, walked away with the newly-introduced President’s Trophy for overall presentation.
Clement Howell, relegated to third place in the Debate Category of the Science Fair, convinced the judges in both the Science Project and the Creative Arts Categories that their presentations were the best.
In the High School Projects category, Clement Howell High finished ahead of Raymond Gardiner into second and Holy Family into third.
Each winning team member received a latest generation iPad Tablet, $500, while the school received $1,000 towards its science programme.
For placing second, each Raymond Gardiner team member received $300 monetary prize, while the school received $500 towards its science programme.
In the Creative Arts Category of the Poster Competition, Clement Howell scored ahead of Maranatha Academy and Elite High, which copped the third spot.
Holy Family emerged winners of the Graphic Arts segment of the Poster Competition, ahead of Raymond Gardiner High.
Maranatha won the High School Science Debate segment, defeating Holy Family in the final. For their triumph, Maranatha collected $1,000 towards the school’s science programme, with each student receiving $500 and the latest generation iPad, in addition to winning a trophy and medals.
Holy Family walked away with a 300 cash prize and an iPad tablet for each of the three debating team members, while the school gets a $500 cash grant towards its science project.
For the Primary Schools section, International School of the Turks and Caicos emerged winners in the Primary Schools Science Project category. They received iPad Tablets, the winning trophy and $500 towards each team member, while the school got $1,000 towards its science programme.
Eliza Simons was second, receiving a trophy, $300 in monetary prize for each team member, while the school received a $500 education grant towards its science programme. Providence International was third.
Provo Christian School was first place in the Primary School Quiz competition. They received a hatful of prizes, plus the floating trophy. Enid Capron was second, while Adelaide Oemler was third.
Providence International Primary was the only entry in the Primary School Graphic Arts Category.
Minister of Education Hon. Rachel Taylor congratulated the competitors for what she described as their critical thinking and creative presentations. She also commended FortisTCI for creating an avenue to showcase the wealth of budding talent and scholarly dispositions amongst the competitors.
The science fair was divided into two categories – the high school and the primary school.
Ruth Forbes, President and CEO of FortisTCI said this year’s event was probably the most special since its inception, because it was the first time since 2020 that it was being hosted because of COVID-19, noting also that the return has been remarkable. She described the projects as phenomenal.
Forbes congratulated Maranatha Academy for taking home the debate trophy, while lauding all the debating students for what she described as their fine research and debating skills.
She said the event began on March 2, with the preliminary round of the high school debate, describing the final between Maranatha and Holy Family as a nail-biting experience. Maranatha won that battle by a mere point.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we, at Fortis, live for these moments, when we witness our young people in action, pursuing their passion for science, and doing so with brilliance and confidence. You guys are phenomenal,” Forbes said.
She reminded the audience that FortisTCI has been committed to science and technology development in the Turks and Caicos Islands through the company’s Science, Technology Engineering and Math or S.T.E.M Programme.
she said FortisTCI cherished the Science and Technology Fair, which occupied pride of place.
She also pointed out that even during COVID-19, Fortis endeavored to engage students and teachers.
“When we are not hosting the science fair in its traditional format due to COVID, we introduced virtual S.T.E.M Programmes, to keep our students and our teachers engaged. We kept them excited and engaged in the latest in their fields.
“Our sustainability approach is just as focused on young people as it does on science and technology,” Forbes said.